Without Feathers

Now in audio for the first time, Without Feathers is narrated by Woody Allen himself. Here they are: 16 of the funniest tales and ruminations ever recorded, by one of the great comic minds of our time. From "The Whore of Mensa", to "Fabulous Tales & Mythical Beasts", to "No Kaddish for Weinstein", old and new Allen fans will laugh themselves silly over these sparkling gems.

Woody Allen has a tremendously good voice. Somewhat ponderous - but that's countered by simply speeding up the narration (I liked 1.5x). I found Without Feathers to start off with far more promise than Getting Even. Unfortunately most of the good stories are at the front, with the end of the book trailing off into what can only be described as either confused ramblings, or intentionally random flights of fancy. But if you like Woody Allen's style, you'll love these books - the narration is superb.

Outlander

Why we think it’s a great listen: An all-time Audible favorite that mixes historic fiction, adventure, and romance with one of the most fascinating literary devices: time travel. Outlander introduces an exhilarating world of heroism and breathtaking thrills as one woman is torn between past and present, passion and love. In 1945, former combat nurse Claire Randall returns from World War II and joins her husband for a second honeymoon. But their blissful reunion is shattered....

Overall, this is an excellent book, and I intend to enjoy the entire series. The book itself is very well written. Others have commented on Edgar Rice Burroughs' "flowery" language, and I definitely agree. Listeners have to understand that this book is almost 100 years old, and yes language has changed somewhat in those years. This only adds to the story.

Jack Sondericker offered a good performance, and was a good narrator for John Carter, although there are regular unnecessary mid-sentence hesitations in the narration (you'll see what I mean). Audio quality is an issue: it sounds like it was recorded on a 1980's Sony Walkman. The production team has done a commendable job of remastering the audio and reducing clicks and distortions, but it's still very poorly recorded. However, it doesn't detract from the book too heavily.

From what I've read of the other reviews, I'm glad I bought this version instead of the others.

Religion for Atheists: A Non-Believer's Guide to the Uses of Religion

The boring debate between fundamentalist believers and non-believers is finally moved on by Alain de Botton's inspiring new book, which boldly argues that the supernatural claims of religion are of course entirely false - and yet that religions still have important things to teach the secular world.

I HEREBY DECLARE: This book is a "Must Read" for any atheist, particularly those who have read anything by Dawkins.

After dispensing with the "is God real or not" argument in the first paragraph of the book, de Botton spends the rest of the book explaining why so many religious rituals are valuable ANYWAY.

Existence of a deity notwithstanding, I have a new respect for religion and religious rituals. There are lots of aspects that I now have a much clearer understanding of, and I understand that I was unfairly denigrating the practices of religious people, because I didn't understand the reason those practices were created. I'm still a committed atheist, of course -- but now I'm a smarter atheist. And that's what atheism is all about, right?

Although I can't praise this book highly enough, I wish I could have reached through my headphones and slapped the narrator. I managed to make it all the way through the book, but it wasn't great. Two stars because the sound quality & production was superb, but that's all.

The Adventure of English: The Biography of a Language

This is the remarkable story of the English language; from its beginnings as a minor guttural Germanic dialect to its position today as a truly established global language. The Adventure of English is not only an enthralling story of power, religion, and trade, but also the story of people, and how their lives continue to change the extraordinary language that is English.

Robert Powell does a fantastic job of narrating this book, which surely must have been trickier than most. Throughout the story of English, we're treated to excerpts of older writings, clearly read in a long-past tongue.

I had to listen to this at 1.25x, because it was simply too much detail for me. I still found the book riveting, and felt like I was somehow quite lucky to be able to listen to the old pronunciations scattered liberally throughout.

Altogether, a great book for people who have an interest in linguistics and the path taken by a familiar language over the centuries.

The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest

Lisbeth Salander lies in Intensive Care with a bullet lodged in her head. She will face trial for three murders and one attempted murder on her release. With the help of journalist Mikael Blomkvist, Salander must not only prove her innocence, but identify and denounce the corrupt politicians that have allowed the vulnerable to become victims of abuse and violence. Salander is now ready to fight back.

A simply stellar wrap up to the Salander series. In this book, everything seems to come together. I understand that the author died unexpectedly while he was writing the fourth story, but everything seems to be resolved at the end of this third book.

The Salander series is absolutely brilliant, and narrated wonderfully by Saul Reichlin. There are very few people that I'd rather listen to for twenty hours.

The Little Prince

A pilot stranded in the desert awakes one morning to see, standing before him, the most extraordinary little fellow. "Please," asks the stranger, "draw me a sheep." And the pilot realizes that when life's events are too difficult to understand, there is no choice but to succumb to their mysteries. He pulls out pencil and paper... And thus begins this wise and enchanting fable that, in teaching the secret of what is really important in life, has changed forever the world for its readers.

A lovely story. I listened to this directly after The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest, which probably wasn't the best precursor... This book provides a rare chance to reflect on what really makes things special.

The book does an excellent job of putting forward some very deep ideas and concepts, in a way clearly written for the younger listener. However even as an adult this book was enjoyable... I just had to reflect on it before I realised that I liked it.

The Help

Jackson, Mississippi, 1962. Aibileen is a black maid raising her 17th white child. Minny, Aibileen's best friend, is the sassiest woman in Mississippi: a wonderful cook with a gossip's tongue. Graduate Skeeter returns from college with ambitions, but her mother will not be happy until she's married. Although world's apart, Skeeter, Aibileen and Minny's lives converge over a clandestine project that will change the town of Jackson forever.

This story represents a movement of incredible courage demonstrated by a few people who were prepared to stand up in a little way and do something to reject the racism and segregation in the post-slavery days of southern USA.

This is the first book I've listened to where the narrators sound like they were specifically cast for each role. All the narrators were FANTASTIC, and it was great listening to the different chapters from the viewpoints of different characters.

Really enjoyed the skilfully written story, the backstories of all the characters, and the wonderful narration by all. Highly recommended.

Mere Anarchy

For the first time ever, hear Woody Allen’s Mere Anarchy in the author’s own distinctive and hilarious voice. Here, in his first short-story collection since his three classics Getting Even, Without Feathers, and Side Effects, Allen has managed to write a book that answers the most profound questions of human existence.

This was the fourth Woody Allen book I've enjoyed from Audible. As always, Woody's voice is the best part about it; his narration is spectacular, and these books definitely benefit from his skilled reading.

The stories themselves are reasonable, with a healthy dose of nonsense thrown in. I found this strange style disconcerting for the other books, but by the time I reached this one, I was fairly comfortable with Allen's style.

There are a few absolutely outstanding lines; for example, when making a hasty retreat: "Now I really must be going. I have a raccoon at home that needs milking."

Catch Me If You Can

Frank W. Abagnale was one of the most daring conmen, forgers, imposters, and escape artists in history. In his brief but notorious criminal career, Abagnale donned a pilot's uniform and copiloted a Pan Am jet, masqueraded as the supervising resident of a hospital, practiced law without a license, passed himself off as a college sociology professor, and cashed over $2.5 million in forged checks, all before he was 21. His story is now a film starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hanks.

Frank Abagnale's story is nothing short of jaw-dropping. What an incredible mindset, and it's no wonder he's one of history's best con-men. I found Barrett Whitener's accent somewhat thick, and it grated on me for the first hour or so of the book, but after I got used to it (and realised it was probably quite similar to Abagnale's own accent), I was happy.

This is one of the very best non-fiction books I've ever read, and Abagnale's journeys are not to be missed.

The Graveyard Book

When a baby escapes a murderer intent on killing the entire family, who would have thought it would find safety and security in the local graveyard? Brought up by the resident ghosts, ghouls and spectres, Bod has an eccentric childhood learning about life from the dead. But for Bod there is also the danger of the murderer still looking for him - after all, he is the last remaining member of the family.

Neil Gaiman has just become the benchmark by which all my other narrators will be judged by. The narration in this book is brilliant, the tempo, the rhythm, the timbre, everything about his reading ebbed and flowed with the book. I've never heard a book read with such mastery.

The storyline was excellent, even though it was probably pitched more towards the younger readers, I fully enjoyed it, and I'm looking forward to my kids listening to it as well. So many books I've enjoyed have been rather age-specific, but this one has appeal over a large range of ages. My 7 year-old will enjoy this book just as much as I did.

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